1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a strongly alkaline paint stripper having the consistency of shaving foam which is suitable for removing hydrolyzable paint coatings on alkali-stable substrates, such as wood for example.
2. Description of Relevant Art
Strongly alkaline strippers containing sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, or ammonium hydroxide as the active constituent have been used for many years for removing hydrolyzable paint coatings. Since the stripping process is based on a chemical reaction lasting from a few minutes to a few hours, the main problem in using these products is to keep the stripping solution in prolonged contact with the lacquer layer to be removed. To this end, it is proposed in British Pat. No. 2,069,522 to add a skin-forming component to the stripper so that a removable skin is formed when the aqueous composition is applied to the painted surface to be stripped. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,250, a "masking agent", for example in the form of a sheet-form textile, is added to the stripper and may be subsequently removed with the stripped paint coating. In both cases, it is feasible--in rooms with sufficient humidity--for the alkaline stripper to be kept in prolonged contact in active, i.e., moist form, with the paint coating to be stripped. However, other disadvantages arise, particularly in the case of objects having angled surfaces, for example latheturned bars and rods. The strippers according to British Pat. No. 2,069,522 have a paste-like consistency and have to be applied with spatulas or trowels with complete surface coverage. In the case of the strippers according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,250, the textile mask has to be adapted to the surface which, in some cases, is only possible with considerable difficulty, i.e., with heavy consumption of material.